Over the Tavern

Synopsis

Tom Dudzick's autobiographical comedy-drama follows the Pazinski family living above their tavern in 1959 Buffalo. When 12-year-old Rudy questions his Catholic faith and rebels against attending church, family tensions erupt between traditional Polish-Catholic values and changing American attitudes, creating both hilarious and heartfelt moments about faith, family, and growing up.

Impressions

Playing the mother in Over the Tavern connected perfectly with my specialization in working-class maternal characters facing family crises. This role required balancing a devoutly Catholic Polish-American mother's unwavering faith with her genuine love for a questioning son. The challenge was making her religious conviction feel authentic rather than rigid, showing how her faith is both her strength and sometimes her limitation in connecting with her children. Dudzick's writing captures the specific cultural tensions of 1950s immigrant families caught between Old World traditions and American assimilation. The mother's journey from authoritarian parent to someone who must find new ways to reach her son taught me about the evolution of parenting styles and how love sometimes requires letting go of control. This production also gave me experience with period-specific physicality and speech patterns, as well as the challenge of portraying someone whose worldview is fundamentally different from my own while still finding her humanity and wisdom. The blend of comedy and genuine emotion in family conflict scenes reinforced my understanding of how humor and heartbreak often coexist in real families.

Company

Produced by MiraCosta College (Wikipedia).